Book review: Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

Fonda Lee is the award-winning author of The Green Bone Saga, one of the best new fantasy book series in recent memory. This week marks the release of Lee’s latest fantasy novella, Untethered Sky, and while it’s not a part of her popular Green Bone world, it still has all the well-developed characters, shocking twists, and emotional devastation that make her work so compelling. At just over 150 pages, Untethered Sky is an easy read that still packs quite a punch. Read on for our spoiler-free review!

Review: Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

I absolutely loved Untethered Sky. Despite going in with high expectations from having read some of Fonda Lee’s previous work, I was still blown away; I was so engrossed that I read it in a single sitting. And with its shorter length, that’s a perfectly reasonable way to consume this story.

Untethered Sky is the tale of Ester, a young woman who joins the ancient order of ruhkers; essentially falcon trainers. Except since this is fantasy, instead of falcons the ruhkers bond with enormous birds called rocs, which are the sole natural predator for a man-eating species of manticore. Ester’s journey is a spiral into obsession as she and the other ruhkers around her devote their every waking moment to the care of their bird companions, and hunting the dangerous manticores that prowl the countryside slaughtering people.

One of the things that struck me most about Untethered Sky is just how quickly Lee was able to get me invested in Ester and her story. A good writer can get you to care about their characters, but a great one can do it in a matter of paragraphs. By the time I was on the second or third scene, I was already writhing in my chair with empathy for Ester and all the horrors and difficult moments she endured.

The story is told entirely from Ester’s point of view, but the characters around her are also instantly engaging. Fonda Lee has a gift for character work, and it’s on full display here. The amount of worldbuilding packed into this story is also impressive, and some of the twists and turns are executed with a brutal clarity reminiscent of the works of George R.R. Martin. Untethered Sky may have a shorter page count than a standard novel, but it certainly didn’t feel like it at all when I was reading.

Untethered Sky has fantastic creature descriptions

Untethered Sky spends a lot of time exploring Ester’s relationship with her roc, Zahra. Lee consulted with falconry experts to get deeper insights into what it’s like to raise a bird of prey as a companion, and that authenticity really comes across in the book. The passages where Ester flushes out prey for her roc feel immediate and detailed, as do the descriptions of animal behavior and even the materials used for things like jesses and lures.

The book also gives manticores their due as well. For all propaganda claiming they’re devil-spawn, we get the idea beneath it all they’re also just animals. While chillingly intelligent, they still often behave like terrifying wild animals rather than some far-flung fantasy creature, which is impressive when you consider that they have the face of an ape, a leonine body encased in quills, and a scorpion-like tail.

All of this detail helps with the payoff of the novella. I won’t discuss the ending here for the sake of spoilers, but it’s pitch perfect for the story Lee is telling. I was on the verge of tears, and have been in a bit of a daze since reading it. Those are signs that an author really stuck the landing.

Verdict

Untethered Sky is a powerful story I would wholeheartedly recommend to pretty much any fan of adult fantasy. It’s a short, snappy read that nonetheless feels epic and timeless, with fantastic character development, worldbuilding, and a fascinating animal/human relationship. My only regret is that there isn’t more of it.

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee is available now from Tordotcom, wherever books are sold.

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